


Wounds (And how they heal)

by rex101111



Series: Sword, Fan, and Horn [2]
Category: Guilty Gear, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Baiken uses a sword so no big surprise, F/M, Gen, lots of blood and injury hear, though only for the first part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-18 18:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16124642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rex101111/pseuds/rex101111
Summary: Baiken gets injured after a battle, very injured.Eri helps.





	1. Chapter 1

It took Baiken a second to notice. Which was odd, because Baiken had made it a point to notice things as soon as possible, losing a limb made her cautious of her surroundings and hyper vigilant of the people around her. Almost to the point of paranoia in her younger days.

But still, it took Baiken a second to realize that the attack she dodged, a massive set of hooked claws, wasn’t actually aimed at her. It took her a second to realize that the assassin she was fighting, some gangling spook with arms like a tree branch, was not trying to hit  _her._

That second was all it took for the claws to reach into the hole she had Eri hide in when the freak showed up, for the freak to look over her shoulder and brandish a wicked grin as he felt his weapon catch on something and heard a sharp yelp of pain.

The willowy form of the assassin shuddered as a wet, coughing laugh crawled out of his throat, “ _Found you~”_

The laugh halted abruptly as Baiken dug her knuckles into the side of his mouth. She could feel the needles filling his jaw shatter with the impact, along with quick jabs of pain as some of them embedded themselves into her flesh.

She barely noticed as she ripped her fist out, several needles flying out with it, and grabbed the limb holding the claws so she could yank them out of Eri’s hiding spot.

She held him by the wrist, and started to  _squeeze._

The willow laughed again, “So, the rumors  _were_  true…” He stood up with no sign of discomfort, even as Baiken tightened her hold and bones started to audibly crack under her fingers, “The lone samurai stole from the yakuza…and such a precious thing indeed…” He grinned widely, showing off the gaps in his teeth Baiken had given him, blood dripping from his nose and gums, “The followers of the crow will pay me  _most_  handsomely once I return it…”

A soft whimper sounded from the hole behind her.

She flexed her fingers, and the wrist in her grip caved in on itself like wet paper. She savored the high pitched wail of pain for a few short moments before tugging on the limb as hard as she could, lifting her right leg to kick the bastard in the teeth when he got close enough.

Or at least, that was the plan. 

It took Baiken a second to notice, a second to see the long blades going right through her leg, three hooked claws gleaming with her blood under the full moon. 

The assassin had twisted his arm in some grotesque way, and grinned at her with bloody teeth.

It took her a second to notice, and when she did it was very hard to drag her attention away from it.

“I heard stories of you,” The willow muttered, voice tinged with pain and anger as he held his claws deep in her inner thigh, “Stories of the woman with one arm and one eye, who swore to  kill the Gear Maker…”

Baiken could feel the sensation leaving her leg as blood flowed from the massive stab wounds, she could feel the claws brushing up and scratching her bones every time she twitched in barely contained pain.

“Heard of the woman who faced the leader of the Holy Order in combat and drove him back,” He grinned again, beady eyes glaring at her as he moved his tried to take back his other limb from her quickly loosening grip, “the one who defied the Japanese containment, the one who fought the Witch and  _lived…”_

Baiken’s mind raced to try and find a way out, she needed to grab her sword, but as soon as she let go of his wrist she would have a second, maybe two, before he lunged at her.

Darkness appeared at the edges and started to spread, what little remained was blurry and unfocused. 

She felt cold. 

It was hard to breath.

“I expected  _more_.”

He yanked the blades out, blood gushed out in a river, staining the stone road as it rushed from the wound.

The pain robbed Baiken of all of her plans, it drove her to her knees as she collapsed and let go of the wrist she crushed, her hand the only thing keeping her upright as her fingers dug into the stone for purchase.

“ _BAIKEN!”_

Sounds of rushing and scrambling footsteps reached her, she looked back to see Eri running towards her and the assassin, cloths in disarray with a long gash going through the left shoulder of her kimono, a thin stain of blood visible on the bottom of the gash.

Eri begged Baiken up and down for that raggedy thing; she said the pink flowers on the bottom of the skirt looked pretty, that they reminded her of the samurai’s hair. 

Baiken felt her head spin, and wanted to apologize for getting the dress ruined and promise to get her another in the next town, but the pain made it hard to speak.

She bit down on her tongue and sharp focus stabbed into her mind as he vision cleared up a little, “ _DON’T COME CLOSER!”_ Her bellow startled the girl into a stuttered stop and made her head spin and her stomach lurch, she bit harder on her tongue for focus, “ _AND GET BACK IN THE HOLE!”_

“B-but!” Eri stammered, tears running down her face, “Baiken you’re  _hurt!”_

“I said  _BACK!”_ The look of fear this earned her made her clench her teeth, “This isn’t your fight!”

.Eri’s face twisted for a second before she shook her head and began walking forward once more, this time with purpose, her eyes, wet but steady, trained on the willow, “Yes it is.”     

The assassin, who contented himself with watch Baiken bleed, sent a gap-toothed grin at Eri,”Finally decided to join us dear? Should have done so sooner.” He looked at Baiken, still on her knees and bleeding and glaring at him for all she was worth, “If you had, perhaps your  _friend_  wouldn’t be in such a shameful state.”

Baiken clenched her teeth hard enough to hear a crack, pushing herself to her feet and grabbing the hilt of her sword, “ _Rotten bastard…”_ Her glare faltered as Eri walked passed her, only stopping to throw a pleading look over her shoulder as she walked towards the willow, “Eri! What are you doing!?”

“If I come with you,” Eri looked up at the lithe form of the assassin, her shoulders set and fists clenched at her sides, “Will you leave her alone?”

“ _ERI!”_

The assassin chuckled and bent down to be eye level with the girl, grin still stretching his face, “I give you my word dear, I will leave your friend to bleed where she kneels.” He looked over her shoulder at Baiken, his grin growing spiteful, “Hell, if she runs fast enough, she might be able to find a doctor that can save her.” He glanced down at her wounded leg, more teeth flashing as he observed the blood still rushing from the three holes he carved in her thigh, “Though, he might need to get rid of that leg,” he laughed heartily, “Oh well, nothing she isn’t used to I’m sure!”

Baiken’s knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on her sword.

“Enough!” Eri shouted as she grabbed the fabric of his pants, wiping the grin off his face as he suddenly glared down at her, “Let’s just go back an-”

She stopped short as the assassin lifted his one unbroken arm, the claws dripping with Baiken’s blood, and snarled at her, “Don’t you talk back to me you brat-!”

It took him a second, a second to notice that Baiken had suddenly appeared in front of him, her face a stone mask.

A second to recognize and absorb the sheer amount of  _hate_  in her eyes.

A second to see her hand taking the sword out of its sheath.

That second was all Baiken needed.

In a single motion, she drew her sword, and ran the blade under the pit of his healthy arm. The edge cut through flesh and bone as easily as air, blood flying in an arc as the blade finished its upward motion.

The arm dropped on the ground, twitching uselessly for a few moments before it laid still. Its former owner cried out in agony, stumbling back as blood rushed out from his fresh stump.

” _No one touches my kid.“_

The growl stilled the assassin’s screams, his mouth open in a gape of abject horror as he took in the sight of the Lone Samurai.

Bleeding heavily from the thigh, kimono torn and stained in crimson, eye blazing in unrestrained and slightly delirious rage. Sword held in a steady grip and the line of her mouth drawn tight.

Terror and indignation mixed and roiled around in his head, and he launched into a desperate flail to try and strike her down, "You  _bitch-!”_

Three flashes of moonlight, and his arm was a pile of segmented meat on the cobblestone.

He scrambled backwards, pain driving him into a panic, until he hit a wall and slid down, blood pooling around him as he let out a throaty scream of pain.

A scream cut short by the tip of her blade sinking into his throat. He made a few pathetic gurgles, his body convulsing, before one final  _twist_  of the sword robbed him of whatever strength he had left.

His body went limp, and slumped to the side when Baiken yanked her sword out.

Baiken breathed heavily for a few minutes, glaring down at the mangled corpse of her enemy, the tip of her sword resting on the stone road by her feet, blood slowly pooling around her.

Eri starred at her wide-eyed, slowly getting up from being knocked down by Baiken before she killed the assassin, tears flowing free down her cheeks, “Baiken?” She received no answer, the samurai continuing to glare at the body of her enemy, “Baiken?” She tugged at the fabric covering her legs, closing her eyes to try and stop the tears, “Baiken p-please you’re, you’re hurt please we need to-”

“Promise me.”

Eri stopped short, looking up to see Baiken staring down at her, her gaze gentle and frim, “Promise…promise what?”

Baiken bent down so she could put her hand on Eri’s shoulder and look her straight in the eye, “Promise me that you will  _never_  throw yourself away like that  _ever again._ ” She grabbed the girl’s shoulder firmly and shook her a bit, “For  _anyone_ , not  _me_ , not  _Anji_ ,  _not anything do you understand?”_

Eri hiccupped, “ _Why?”_

Baiken sighed and put her hand on the top of Eri’s head, “Because you are worth  _more_  than that, you deserve better than to just be a sacrificial lamb for people to use and throw away,  _you deserve to live.”_  She offered a weak smile as she wiped some tears away with her thumb, “Alright?”

A few sobs climbed out of Eri’s throat, but with some effort, she managed a few firm nods of her head, her eyes still teary.

Baiken offered a tiny smile, “Good,” She muttered weakly, her body listing to one side, “That’s-that’s good…” Baiken’s eye rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed on her side, unmoving.

“ _BAIKEN!”_  Eri screeched and started to tug on Baiken’s kimono, tears flowing rapidly down her cheeks, “ _Please don’t die! Please! Stay awake! PLEASE!”_  She managed to roll her onto her back, holding her face between her small hands, “ _Please….”_

Baiken visibly struggled to open her eye, her face pale and drawn as she tried to make an encouraging smile, “It…okay kid.” She somehow managed to lift her hand to put the girl’s wet cheek in her palm, “This…has been a long time coming…the way I’ve been living…I’ve been expecting this…I-”

 _“NO!_ ” Eri shook her head vigorously, frowning and glaring down at the dying samurai, “How come I have to promise not to throw my life away, and then you turn around to do the same! Its not fair!  _You shouldn’t have to die either!_ ”

The girl’s tears fell on Baiken’s face, the samurai’s smile falling slightly, “Everyone dies Eri…” She looked straight up into the night sky, her voice calm, “Everyone has their time, eventually…”

“Bu-but…” Eri sniffed miserably, “This happened-this happened because I-”

“You hid because I told you too.” Baiken barked, flinching from the strain, “There was nothing you could have done,” She gestured with her head to the wound, “ _that_  happened because I let my guard down.”

“ _But-!”_

“And you can’t do anything to save me,” She continued with a brief shake of her head, “So, unless you have some healing magic up your sleeve…this is it for me.” She chuckled, “Try and not take advantage of Anji alright? You know how much…he likes to spoil you…”

Eri mumbled in a panic, shaking her head, looking around for anyone who might help as Baiken grew paler and her breathing became shallow, tears falling all the while.

All of a sudden, she stopped, her hands flying to her horn, and her eyes widening in realization. Her gaze snapped to Baiken’s bleeding leg, before her face scrunched up in determination and she rushed to it, placing her hands on the gaping wounds.

Baiken flinched slightly from the contact, although the pain was fading into numbness at this point, and tried to see what Eri was doing, “Kid? The hell are you-” She stopped when Eri’s horn began to glow, streaks of color firing off from the tip, “…Eri?”

“Please don’t hate me.”

Baiken was stumped by the sudden whisper, barely heard from the low pitched whistling emitting from her horn, “I could never-why would you-”

Whatever Baiken was about to say was swallowed by a sudden  _explosion_  of light from Eri’s horn, her vision filled to the brim with blinding white, as the pain of her leg spiked…before gradually fading away.

 ———————-

Dodge to the right, kick out knee, slash neck.

Dodge left, break rib, slash neck.

Right, elbow, neck.

Again. And again.

The motions blurred together in Anji’s mind as he danced among his opponents, barely having enough time to breath after he felled an enemy before another took his place.

The assassins struck while the three of them where heading back to their inn after eating at a restaurant, Baiken’s and Anji’s reflexes dulled and sluggish from the long day and big meal.

They were twenty in all, with one tall, gangly, and infamous leader at the front.

They separated in the chaos, the group focusing their attention on the dancer, while the leader rushed off to deal with Baiken and retrieve Eri himself, the willowy bastard vanished into the alleyways as he ran off, cackling all the way.

Anji had been fighting for about 10 minutes at this point, and he had not seen either Baiken or the leader since. Worry gnawed at the back of his mind as he fought a niggling feeling of dread as the minutes dragged on and no news of a victor came.

He had full confidence in Baiken’s abilities, but The Phantom was no ordinary hired killer. World class, hired and lauded for his success rate and brutality. Baiken was tired and fighting with a full stomach, not to mention protecting Eri.

The Phantom was no doubt planning to exploit this from the start.

One of the assassins managed a glancing blow to Anji’s arm, ripping him away from his musings, and dragging a frustrated growl from his throat, “That’s  _it!”_

Pushing Ki through his limbs, Anji’s fan grew in size, and with a swift strike he sliced the assassin clean in half. Turning around he threw two fans infused with his blue tinged Ki at the other assassins, catching them in the throat.

Another deliberate flexing of his Ki, and the fans exploded, catching the reminder of the group.

Anji stood in the middle of the carnage, breathing heavily as he whipped his head back and forth to catch any survivors, finding none.

He stood for another minute, before his eyes widened, “Baiken…ERI!”He ran in the general direction he barely remembered the two ran off to when this whole mess started, yelling out their names as he did, hoping against hope he wasn’t too late.

All of a sudden, a bright light filled up a back street a few blocks from where he was, and for lack of any better idea he ran towards it at full tilt, his mind racing with what he would find and if Baiken and Eri were still okay.

When he turned the final corner, and was rewarded with the sight of The Phantom’s mangled body slumped on a wall, and Eri and Baiken sitting down a bit away, seemingly without a scratch on them, he felt a bit silly.

He slumped onto a nearby wall with a dramatic sigh, “Here I was, worrying myself sick over you two!” He shouted, catching the attention of his two girls, “And here you are, right as rain!” He couldn’t help the breathless laugh and foolish grin that came as he said it, damn near giddy as he was with relief.

He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the two, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, “I don’t know about you, but I want nothing more than to go to the inn and sleep for the next two days straight.” He looked between the two of them, “Any injuries we need to take care of?”

Baiken nodded after a moment before pointing a thumb at Eri, “Her shoulder might need a bandage or two.”

Eri shook her head while holding her injured arm, “m'okay.” She mumbled under her breath, refusing to meet either of their gazes.

Anji raised an eyebrow, kneeling to be eye level with her, “Eri, if you got cut the wound could get infected, at least let us take a look at it at the inn?” Eri stayed obstinate, quietly looking away from Anji and flinching away from his attempts to put a hand on her shoulder.

Anji blinked before sighing and looking at Baiken who was, strangely enough, completely unharmed.

Anji blinked again, starring dumbly at the oddly quiet samurai, before she growled and glared at him, “ _What?”_

“You’re not hurt.”

“And why do you say that like it’s a  _bad thing?”_

Anji put up his hands in surrender, “No, of course not, you being unharmed is  _very_  good but…you just fought the  _Phantom._ ” He gestured towards the body of what was no too long ago a world-class hired killer, “Winning is fine, but  _without a scratch?”_  He chuckled good naturedly, “I mean, color me impressed, is all. Did you use some trick or-”

“Not without a scratch.”

Anji was quiet for a second, something in Baiken’s tone giving him pause, “…excuse me?”

“I didn’t beat him without a scratch,” She slapped her thigh, “He stabbed me right here, right through the leg, damn near bled out before finishing him off.”

Anji blinked once. Twice. On the third he put his glasses back on and squinted at Baiken’s very visibly  _un_ injured leg, “I must need to change my prescription, because your leg looks fine…” He grinned mildly as he starred at the muscled thigh for a second longer than he needed, before giving a thumb up, “Very fine indeed.”

She smacked him upside the head, “I’m serious Anji, I damn near  _died_  on these fucking cobblestones.”

He rubbed his head while pointing at Eri, “Language dear.”

She scoffed again, “Yeah whatever, point is I beat him but was bleeding out…and then,” She turned to look at Eri’s back, “She saved me.”

Eri’s shoulder tensed a bit before relaxing as she turned to look at them at last.

Anji scratched his head as he looked between Baiken and the pool of, mostly dried, blood around them, “So…she knows healing magic?” He turned to Eri with a smile, “Good on you Eri! Always knew there was something special about you!”

“Not healing magic.”

Anji stopped short, “Pardon?”

“Look at my leg again,” She glared at him when a grin started to crawl up his face, “ _seriously damn it,_  look at here on my thigh, see any marks?” She pointed at her inner thigh, and indeed, there wasn’t a single mark on her flesh, “Does it look like I ever got injured in the first place?”

Anji’s brain processed the information. He knows how healing magic works, had it done on himself in fact. All that healing magic really does was speed up the natural regeneration of the body; bones knitting together, blood clots covering scrapes, and flesh fusing back after grievous injury.

All these things left a mark on the body, especially grave wounds left scars, even if healed properly.

But Baiken’s leg was completely unmarred by scars. Well. By any  _new_  scars anyway.

And then there was all the  _blood_  that Baiken apparently lost. Healing magic doesn’t restore blood loss, if Baiken’s injury was as bad as she made it sound, she should be pale as a ghost and rushed to a hospital.

And yet her skin was tan and healthy, her lips a healthy pink color and not a deathly blue, and her one eye not glazed over but glaring accurately at him because he was, again, starring at her leg for longer than he needed to.

Drawing his head back to escape Baiken’s swipe, Anji put all this information together and came to a clear conclusion.

Eri didn’t  _heal_  Baiken’s wound.

Eri, somehow, made it so Baiken’s wound  _never happened in the first place._

The implications made his head spin and his heart sink to his gut. Rewriting events so they never happened was  _never_  a good thing, a certain witch and a man with scythes on chains came to mind. And with thoughts of  _them_  came thoughts of  _That Man_ , and thoughts like  _that_  never ended well.

Especially when Baiken was concerned.

Turning his head to Eri, and already fearing he knew the answer, he asked, “Eri…how did you do this?”

Eri took a  _deep_  breath, apparently to steel herself, before turning to them fully, sitting down on her knees and starring down at the blood stained cobblestones.

“Eri,” Baiken whispered quietly, “I won’t hate you, I promise.”

The soft tone Baiken used caused affection to build up in Anji’s chest, but he kept his gaze on Eri, “And neither will I, ever.”

Eri took another breath, before raising her head to meet their gaze.

“I’m a Gear.”

(They never returned to the inn that night, though they did leave a note with the money they owed at the counter.

A kimono store found one of its extra small dresses missing, though it too had money for it on the rack.)  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! A bit quicker than my usual fare but fear not! I got like 5 more prompts from tumblr for stories with these 3! Stay tuned!!!....eventually

Eri gazed mournfully at the pile of clothes at her feet, dressed in pajamas and the memory of the previous night still fresh in her mind.

From the moment she had revealed her true nature to Baiken and Anji, the samurai had been…quiet. Right after she told her she was a Gear, Baiken had stared at her for a long second, as if she wanted to make sure she heard right.

Before she or Anji could say anything, Baiken rose to her feet, stating that they couldn't stay where they were any longer. Eri shuddered as she remembered the corpse, slumped on the wall and bleeding not two feet away.

(Chisaki was slumped like that, bleeding in the street. She could still scarcely believe it, sometimes, that a nightmare could be felled like that. She still woke up at night, thinking he would appear over the edge of her bed, the blood from the hole in his head staining the sheets.)

They snuck into the inn room they rented, grabbed what they could carry, and left. Eri felt a bit bad about the inn staff since they hadn't paid, but keeping up with Anji and Baiken meant not having time to voice such concerns as they hurried to the next village over under cover of darkness, for fear of more assassins attacking them.

It also meant that there wasn't any time to fix the large tear in her kimono. Starting at the top of her right shoulder and running down the length of the arm. And even if they had the time, the blood stains dotting the edges ruined the precious, overly expensive silk.

She begged for that kimono, the pink flowers near the hem, and the blue crescent moon on the back. It was so beautiful. It was the first thing she had ever asked for since her rescue that wasn't food, the first thing she had ever asked for _period._

And now it was a pile of cloth at her feet, a waste of money. And Baiken still wouldn't speak with her.

The wound on her shoulder sent a quick prick of pain through her arm, Eri reaching up to rub it to try and alleviate the pain, with minimal success.

"Eri!" Anji called out suddenly, softly knocking twice on the wooden screen dividing the small inn room between her and the other two, "May I enter?" She looked up at the silhouette he cast on the screen to see he was holding a small parcel and shaking it slightly, "I have a present for you!"

 "Um…" She mumbled, a bit surprised and glancing between the screen and her kimono nervously before she cleared her throat, "I-it's okay! Come in!" Anji quietly moved the screen, coming into view with a quiet smile and a brown parcel in his hands as he calmly entered Eri's side of the room.

She briefly caught sight of Baiken on the other side, back facing the screen and completely still. She was not asleep. She did not look in Eri's direction.

Her shoulders slumped minutely, a pit digging into her gut.

A pat on her head brought her attention back to Anji, whose smile had turned a bit sad, "Don't mind her too much Eri, she just has…a lot on her mind."

Eri bit her lip and looked away, "She…hates me…"

"Nonsense," Anji snapped gently, "of course she doesn't hate you Eri, she promised as much remember?"

She snapped her gaze to him, eye damp, "Then why won't she look at me?" She rubbed her eyes miserably, looking away again, "She hates me because I'm a Gear…"

Anji was quiet for a second, before narrowing his eyes slightly, "Eri…how much do you know about Gears?"

Eri sniffed for a moment, "Only what Chisaki told me…" She didn't see Anji clutching at the fabric of his pants at the mention of the name, "A long time ago, Gears...killed a lot of people, and then the Holy Order fought and killed all the Gears…they're monsters…"

Anji's eyebrows pinched, "Eri…"

"I'm a monster…" Eri wrapped her hands around her legs and rested her head on her knees, "No wonder Baiken hates me…"

"Now you listen to me." Anji stated, putting a hand on the top of Eri's head, "You are _not_ a monster just because you're a Gear." She lifted her head to look at him with tear filled eyes, "A monster is someone who hurts people for no good reason, and for as far as I've known you, you have _never_ hurt anyone _period._ "

"But…" Eri hiccupped, "But, Chisaki said-"

"With respect to the dead, Chisaki apparently left a lot of details _out_ of what happened…" Anji scratched his chin for a moment, "Though to be fair, generally speaking he told you the truth." Anji sat down next to Eri, folding his arms as he looked at her, "A long time ago, Gears attacked the world, and hurt a lot of people in the process." He looked at the screen from the corner of his eye, pausing as if waiting for the person on the other side to speak up, before looking back to Eri, "…Baiken included."

Eri's eyes widened, turning her head quickly to look at the screen door, as if expecting the samurai to open it at any moment. She then turned back to Anji, one of her hands touching her face, "Is that how she lost-?"

"Yes."

A light shuffling sound came from the other side of the screen, and then nothing.

Eri was quiet for a moment, eyes still wider, "And her-?"

"Yes." Anji nodded solemnly, a faraway look in his eye, "When she was very young, Gears attacked her home, destroying it completely." He sighed, "She was one of the only survivors."

A frown deepened on Eri's face, "No wonder she won't-"

"She spent a long time after that being… _very_ angry," He interrupted, looking away, "Angry at everyone, and at everything." A sad smile rose on his face, "And she hurt a lot of people while she was at it. Very badly too."

Eri's eyes grew wetter again, though for an altogether different reason.

"Eventually, Baiken grew past it…though not completely." He glanced at Eri's bandages peeking out of the sleeve of her pajamas, "Some wounds never really heal."

Eri bit her lower lip, but said nothing.

"You being a Gear complicates things, no question…but Baiken isn't that single minded, not anymore." He grinned and ruffled her hair, laughing lightly, "give her some time, she has a lot on her mind to sort out…but have faith, she'll get there."

Eri was quiet for a moment, before rubbing her eyes dry and nodding resolutely, blushing mildly as Anji kept ruffling her hair.

"And another thing," He said, mock seriousness lacing his tone as he leaned down to stage whisper into her ear, "about this whole 'Gears are monsters' business," He grinned, mischievously, "I actually _know_ a few Gears that might change your mind about that."

Eri's eyes turned into dinner plates, disbelief etched on every feature, "Really!?"

"Really." He clapped his hands suddenly, grinning even wider, "But! That's for later! For _now…"_ With a flourish he drew his fans, did a few fanciful twirls accompanied by a faint swirl of blue ki, the display capturing Eri's attention completely. Putting one palm forward placing the ceiling, he hid it by opening one fan and then, pausing briefly for effect, he closed the fan to reveal the parcel he came in with, "Your present!"

Eri, caught up in Anji's theatrics, was bouncing slightly in her seat, the previous heavy thoughts drifting away slightly as she looked at her present with shining eyes, carefully taking it from Anji's outstretched palm.

She sat the parcel down on the floor between her and the pile of her ruined dress, slowly opening the brown wrapping paper. She reached her hand inside, and when she grabbed it and pulled it out a light red cloth followed.

It was a kimono, colored the same ruby hue of her eyes. Butterflies of a blue shade swarmed the length of the sleeves and up to the pink blossoms on the shoulders. A few more butterflies littered the hem with a lighter shade of blue.

Eri's eyes shined brighter and brighter with each inch of the kimono that she pulled out of the wrapping paper.

"It’s a bit much I know." Anji said humbly, a gentle smile on his features, "But seeing you so bummed after last night made me want to cheer you up!" He tapped his head with one of his fans with a goofy grin, "And when I saw it in the store it reminded me of cute little you! So I had to get it!"

Eri's sniffed. Then sniffed again. Anji's grin quickly fell into panic

"Eri?" He fretted around her, unsure of what to do with his hands as she kept sniffling, "Are you okay? Do you not like it? I can give it back just let me-"

"I love it."

Anji stopped when Eri looked up, mouth wobbly and thin lines of tears trailing down her cheeks, sighing with relief, "You're welcome."

Eri sniffed for a few more moments, Anji sitting across from her with a calm smile and resting his head in his palm as he chuckled. Eri gave out a mildly louder sob trying to calm down, and right on cue the screen slid open, revealing Baiken in loose fitting pajamas, her hair flowing free around her shoulders.

Her one eye giving out a rather mean and tired look to the other two occupants of the room, who quickly quieted down in her presence, their faces heating a bit from embarrassment.

"Do you two know what time it is?"

Anji and Eri exchanged a quick look, and Anji looked back at the samurai with a nervous smile, "Late?"

" _Very_ late, Anji."

He visibly shrank and cowered at her calm glare, smiling wilting as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

Baiken glanced at Eri specifically, her gaze softening noticeably when she caught the wetness on her cheeks…and then went right back to unamused when she saw the kimono in her grasp.

"Anji…"

"Yes dear?"

"Where did that kimono come from?"

Another audible gulp, "Well, I bought it, of course."

She looked back at him, a curious look in her eye, "Oh? Did you now?" She took a few steps closer to him, Anji sweating more and more with every inch she overtook, "And with whose money did you _buy_ it, exactly?"

A moment of silence, "Mine, obviously."

"And what exactly _made_ it your money?"

"…the fact that I'm going to skip lunch for the next week?"

Anji and Baiken locked eyes for a few moments, Eri looking back and forth between them in confusion. Eventually, Baiken sighed and rubbed her forehead tiredly, "Fair enough." She thrust her thumb behind her to their shared futon, "Bed. Now."

Anji got up with minimal ceremony and a quick bow, "Yes, ma'am." He left the room in two strides, leaving Baiken with Eri, who was still clutching her new dress.

A few moments of awkward silence sank between the two, Baiken looking away and clearing her throat.

"…how's your shoulder?"

Eri rubbed her arm where newer bandages covered the wound from yesterday, "It's better…" Eri looked up at Baiken, the woman still looking away, before lowering her gaze to her feet, "…I'm sorry for waking you up."

"…don't worry about it kid."

Eri worried the cloth of her kimono between her fingers for a moment, before getting to her feet and walking towards the futon with the folded gift under her arm, her eyes trained on the floor the whole time. As she lifted up the covers to lay down, she heard a frustrated sigh and a soft thump, looking back to see Baiken resting her forehead on the side of the screen door.

"Bai-Miss Baiken-?"

"I'm not a good person, Eri." She said, solemnly, her forehead still pressed to the door, "never was, and chances are I never will be." She took a deep breath, and raised her head to look at the young girl directly, eyes steady and serious, "But, when I make a promise? I _always_ keep it."

Eri bit her lower lip, her eyes pricking at the edges.

"Do you understand?"

The girl nodded once, not trusting her voice.

"Good." Baiken rubbed her forehead, watching Eri as she used her sleeve to dry her eyes, catching sight of the red fabric again, "Eri?" The girl looked up with a ruddy face, "…could you show me the dress?"

Eri blinked a few times, before she blushed hard enough to glow and got to her feet, grabbing the sleeves of her dress and spreading it over her form above her sleepwear.

Baiken was quiet for a moment, eye roaming the designs on the cloth and the vibrant red color, a soft smile gracing her usually hardened face, "Looks good on ya kid, wear it tomorrow when we head out."

The girl nodded rapidly, face still glowing red "Yes, thank you! Miss Baiken!"

"Just _Baiken_ is fine kid, I already told." The samurai rolled her eye, but the soft smile still rested on her face as she turned to her side of the room, her hand grabbing the screen door in order to close it.

But before that she stopped, and looked back at Eri as she folded her kimono and put aside before she crawled under the covers.

"…Good night, Eri."

The screen door quietly slide closed, shutting with a feather soft thump of wood and paper. The little girl bundled herself up in her blanket, and sunk into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The wound on her shoulder, though still pulsing with quick moments of pain, didn't bother her at all.

(They left early in the morning. She had just barely enough time to get dressed in her new clothes, taking Anji's hand and grabbing Baiken's pant leg as they walked down the street.

She threw away her old kimono without a thought, determined to take better care of this one.

Her shoulder stopped throbbing as she did, and soon she forgot about it.)


End file.
